A Fading Light
by Cranky Kong
Summary: Just as Phoenix and Edgeworth thought the Dark Age of the Law was over, an old enemy returns and threatens to destroy everything and everyone they care about. Ca
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just completed Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies and MAN did it light a few sparks! This doesn't mean Path of the Power is dead, though. I just had to get this on paper before it was lost forever. WARNING: while there isn't any swearing, some of the dialogue here gets a little disturbing. The games are rated T for a reason.

Pandemonium. That was the only word that could describe the situation. Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth had arrived to his office that afternoon only to see it surrounded with officers, detectives, other prosecutors, and even Judge Courtney, with her gavel in tow. All of them were clamoring for his attention at once, and it took almost ten minutes to restore order.

"Everyone please, one at a time! What happened here to cause such a commotion?" It was like trying to have a conversation during a torrential downpour, but the mass hysteria was finally quelled by a shout of:

SILENCE!

The noise level immediately dropped to zero as all eyes turned to the one who had spoken: former death-row inmate Simon Blackquill. Edgeworth gave him a weary grin.

"Yes, thank you, Simon. Now can someone please tell me what happened?"

After a short pause, detective Ema Skye stepped forward, "Long story short, Mr. Edgeworth, Shelly Dekiller attacked the prison."

_Shelly Dekiller?! I hoped I'd never have to hear that name again._ Shelly Dekiller was a professional assassin that both Edgeworth and Phoenix had encountered on several occasions but always managed to escape their grasp. The chief prosecutor grimaced in memory but motioned for Skye to continue.

"Well, he managed to kill his target, one of the death row inmates Matt Engarde. But on his way out, he ran into Simon who had been packing up his possessions to leave after his recent acquittal."

Another detective, Dick Gumshoe, cut in, "Mister Blackquill left Dekiller with a few wounds, but could not stop him from escaping.

_Typical Dekiller, there one instant and gone the next._ "I see, but why are you telling me this now? Why all of the commotion?"

"See, that's the thing Mister Edgeworth sir, In order to get to his target, Dekiller had to open all of the cell doors and a full-blown riot ensued. We rounded up the prisoners as quickly as we could, but in the chaos one of them managed to escape!"

A few tense seconds passed with no one saying anything.

_A death-row convict running free? Then why did you see fit to bring everyone here instead of going after him? No, I can't blame the detective. Most likely, he wanted as many people to know as possible, so we'd have the best chance of searching._ "Well Detective, which prisoner was it who escaped?"

"We found this in the empty cell." A third person stepped forward. Edgeworth recognized him as ex-rock star Klavier Gavin. But instead of the friendly grin that he normally wore, the youthful prosecutor's face was tense, serious, and showed only a scowl. In his trembling hand, he held out an unopened envelope with a letter inside. Miles tore open the letter and read it aloud for everyone to hear:

**To My Dearest ****_Friend,_**

**My time in a jail cell has given me some time to think. Time to think about myself and my actions, to think about ****_you,_**** to think about ****_us._**** I used to think of you as my greatest enemy. But after an immense amount of reflection, I've come to the realization that you aren't my greatest enemy…you're my greatest creation. I've succeeded in killing Phoenix Wright; the naïve idealistic sham of a defense attorney, and from his remains, I created you, my beautiful wonderful creation. I've spent those seven long years shaping you in my image; molding you, crafting you from that idiot you were into something beautiful. You and I are more alike than you'd like to admit, more than ****_I'd_**** like to admit. Let's look at the evidence, shall we? Let's start with that card…oh wait…that card's not legal evidence. It was forged. By ****_you_****. Did I push you that far that you'd spit in the face of your dearest mentor Mia Fey by throwing away everything she taught you? I'd love to rip her corpse from the grave just so you could look at her and try to justify your actions. But don't worry Wright; you have a new mentor now…me. And you have made me so proud. Who needs that wretched woman now that you have me, your creator? Between forging evidence and overhauling the entire judicial system for simple revenge, you're beginning to rival me in the overreaction department. You'll obviously deny that part about the judicial system, but deep down, you know it's true. You did it just to catch me. Needless to say, I'm touched. Sure, I was peeved at first but hey, that's all water under the ****_bridge_****. I am disappointed however. You've been growing soft. Ever since the Misham trial, ****_these fakers, these posers, these two-faced worms who call themselves your friends, _****have been springing up from out of your past. They're making you soft! Undoing all of the wonderful progress I've made! That's why I broke out. To do one final favor for you. I'm getting rid of these fakers, these parasites who make you weak. The spirit medium looks like she'd love a date with the thinker statue. Hell, even Apollo and your daughter have been causing your armor to crack. Don't worry my child, they'll all be long gone soon enough and you can prosper once again. Who knows? Maybe by the end of it you'll become even more like me by joining me in holding the title of "murderer." I hope to see you soon.**

**Your creator,**

**Kristoph Gavin**

Edgeworth read these words and his heart almost stopped. Everyone else in the room had gone pale, but he wasn't paying attention to them. He was on the verge of freezing up. His eyes became glassy and unfocused as he wrapped his arms around himself.

_Such hatred, such callousness, such pure concentrated evil. I…I haven't felt like this since…_

**_"Edgeworth! You and your father are my curse! Your father shamed me with a penalty on my perfect record, and you…you left a scar on my shoulder that would never fade. I'll bury you with my bare hands! Death! DEATH!"_**

_How could someone…so heartless like him be allowed to walk free? He…he would hide justice and the truth under a pile of rotted corpses. How…why did this happen?_

"Mister Edgeworth?" It was Gumshoe again. And that snapped Edgeworth back to his senses. He couldn't panic now. There was work to be done.

"Detective, send a warning to Kurain Village, I want the Feys in protective custody immediately. Klavier, take a squad of officers and start tracking Kristoph. Ema, contact agent Shi Long Lang; we might need Interpol's assistance. The rest of you, form a blockade around the perimeter around the entire county, no one get in or out. And notify the Chief of Police of the situation at once."

"Yes sir!" Everyone ran about on their respective missions. Edgeworth folded up the letter, put it in his breast pocket, and ran for his car. News this important had to be delivered in person.

Elsewhere

A young woman dressed in a blue cloak quietly exited the train. Ever since regaining her memory, she had awaited this moment. Checking the locket around her neck and the bracelet on her wrist for the umpteenth time, she reached into her pocket for her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Are you sure this is an appropriate time, Mr. Wright? What if they don't accept me? I see. You prepared the letters I've written them, correct? Thank you. I cannot even begin to repay you for all that you've done for me and my children. I will see you soon."

Thalassa Gramarye turned her phone off and hailed a taxi.

_I'm coming my children. Please wait for me._

A/N: Ace Attorney doesn't belong to me. Neither does Kristoph's letter. I found it on the AskAceAttorney letter blog, and the Moderator graciously allowed me to use it in this fanfiction. So, yeah this might get a little dark. Enjoy. This story can be read without it, but it works a lot better if you've played Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hoo boy. This is going to be harder than I thought. See, the Ace Attorney series is known for its characters. Whether it's the Twisted Samurai Simon Blackquill, the lovable buffoon Dick Gumshoe, or the Ace Attorney (and total dork) Phoenix Wright, each individual (even the victims) has a full personality and endears him/herself to the fans. Let me put it this way: one fanfiction writer made an AU story where Dahlia (Fey not Hawthorne) is an attorney and experienced quite a bit of backlash when she turned Maggey Byrde into one of the murder victims. Therefore, I have to figure out how to keep the tension of the story up without increasing the body count every chapter. Seems difficult, but I enjoy a challenge. But enough of my ramblings; on with the show!

(Chapter 2)

_"Phoenix…help me."_

_Under an ominous cloud cover, Phoenix Wright ran. Sweat streaked down his face as he forced himself to run faster._

_"Ch-chief? Mia is that you?"_

_"Phoenix…please help me." Was she afraid? No, that was impossible. Even since he'd known her, Mia Fey had never shown fear, not even in the face of her death. Yet now as he forced himself through the darkness, he could hear her voice trembling. It was faint and weak, like she didn't have enough energy to shout. He didn't dare wonder to himself just what exactly it was that she would be afraid of. His body ached in protest, the hem of his vision began to blur, and he began to stumble more and more frequently. Only sheer adrenaline kept him going now._

_"Mia? Mia, where are you?"_

_"Please…Phoenix…don't let him take me. Don't…..let…..him…."_

_"Mia? MIA!" He could finally see her now. But his relief quickly turned back into panic as he realized she wasn't entirely there! Her body was transparent, and wisps of smoke were seeping from it. Rushing forward at a full-fledged sprint, he reached out his hand for hers…only for it to pass through her ghostly form without any hindrance at all. Frantically, he pulled out his Magatama, hoping that the relic would somehow save his mentor._

_It was too late. Mia screamed in agony as she disappeared entirely; the smoke that had once been part of her rising up to the stormy sky. As her protégé looked on, the clouds and smoke mixed together above him. A powerful wind began to blow, picking up pieces of debris at first, and the whole chunks of earth. As the world fell apart around him, the last thing Phoenix saw was an image in the middle of the storm: __**an image of Kristoph's hand.**_

"Boss? Boss, wake up! You're having a nightmare." Phoenix's eyes snapped open. Had he fallen asleep on the couch, in the middle of the day?

"Huh? Oh, hey Athena." He sat up and looked at his junior partner.

She had stopped shaking him and was looking down with a worried expression on her face, "Oh, thank goodness. Are you all right?"

He adjusted his suit, "Yes, thank you. Where is everyone?"

"Well, Apollo and Trucy are at the Wonder Bar, and after I spent some time with Simon, I thought I'd come check up on you."

"I'm grateful for that, thanks."

"So what were you dreaming about?" She was eager to put her psychological studies to the test and find out the meaning of his nightmare.

He started to tell her, but they were interrupted by someone banging on the door.

"Wright? Open the door right now; it's an emergency!"

(_Is that Edgeworth? Since when is he so riled up?"_

Athena went to open the door and found a flustered Miles Edgeworth on the other side. His jacket was lopsided and drenched in sweat, his hair was disheveled, and his glasses were tilted on his face.

Phoenix stared at his rival in shock, "Edgeworth, what happened to you? Was there an earthquake I didn't know about?"

Miles said nothing, only handing the other a crumpled envelope. As he read the contents of the letter, Phoenix's eyes widened, and he clutched his hand to his chest. Athena couldn't see the words, but she could feel the deep fear emanating of off the two men.

"That's not all, Wright." Edgeworth clenched his right fist, "One of my officers called me on my way over here. Gavin has already made his first move. He vandalized the nearby cemetery."

(_Cemetery? But that's where—) _Phoenix didn't think it was possible to feel anymore faint that he already was.

Edgeworth hadn't finished talking yet, "One gravesite in particular has been completely uprooted. I am sorry to say that the man dug up Mia Fey's body and ran off with it."

Phoenix very nearly vomited at those words but was stopped by Cykes's hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Wright. I'll call Apollo and let him know what's happening. You need to get to Kurain village ASAP. Once Trucy's safe, then the two of us will help with the investigation."

(_She's grown a lot since I first met her. I hope she'll be okay.)_

"Be careful, Athena." Phoenix turned to Edgeworth, and the two of them headed out to the car.

_(I swear to God, Gavin. If you hurt my friends, I'll see you buried in that cemetery myself.)_


End file.
